Questioni was involved in a mva on yesterday. i was travel east bound when someone pulled out in front of me making a left turning attempting to travel west eastbound. My vehicle was struck on the rear passenger side and preceded to flipped multiple times. I was abl to escape through the windshield, but the car was completely smashed. The driver was ticketed and we both have the same insurance company. we did have numerous witnesses and a police report. i did not immediately to the ER but i did go later that night where i received ct and xrays.
question:
1) does having the same company help claim or not?
2) if the other driver receiving a ticket with this help claim or not?
3) how long should i wait to here something?
4) it was a 2006 Rav 4 what the probability it will be totaled out?
Thank you
AnswerHi MoniQue. I am sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you are feeling better this weekend. Let me address each one of you questions:
1.Does having the same company help a claim or not? What happens in this type of case is that the accident gets split into two different claims, with two different adjusters and two different managers.
You will have one claim number and the other person will have another. The insurance company will handle the claims as if they were dealing with another insurance companies. They will make payments from one policy into the other (from the responsible party into the other). In theory, this shouldn't affect the way the insurance company handles the claim, but it does.
In my opinion it benefits you because they want to keep you as a client (a paying customer). Also, in many insurance companies adjusters can get your matter handled by simply walking to the other adjuster's desk (if they are in the same office, of course).
2. Usually a ticket shows strong evidence against one driver or the other. It is the opinion of the investigating officer of who might have caused the accident. A ticket, however, does not necessarily makes one party at fault or 100% at fault. Insurance companies will investigate the accident and will use the report as evidence to get to a liability decision.
3. Well, insurance companies are supposed to be contacting you as soon as they learn from the accident. You should file a claim and they will send you the necessary forms (medical authorization forms etc). Your adjuster should contact to get your statement and get things moving. Depending on when they can get other person's statement (the other driver). If you don't here anything from them, call them often until they give you an straight answer or explain the process.
4. This is very hard to decide. Sounds like the car flipped, but it is fairly new. Visit: http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/totaling-a-vehicle.html for more information about total loss.
I hope this answers your questions
Good Luck
Anne,
http://www.spokanelegalhelp.com
